Japanese advertisements are on a totally different level—there’s the zany, the downright weird, and then there are the gorgeous ones—bonus points if these feature our favorite anime characters.
Luckily for One Piece fans, the series’ characters are featured in the newest “Hungry Days” ad for popular noodle brand Nissin. The CM centers on fan-favorite Roronoa Zoro, who is seen in the ad as a member of his high school’s kendo club. When he is defeated by a senior club member, Zoro throws himself into practicing hard so that he can surpass his senior. Check out the 30-second version of the CM below!
And if you are sharp-eyed enough, there were actually a lot of cameo appearances in the CM by some characters from the series!
For example, Zoro’s childhood rival Kuina is seen in a picture presumably in their kendo practice room:
In this one frame, we get to see the Alabastans Crocodile and Vivi along with Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Coby and Alvida:
There are other Easter eggs in the CM as well, such as Zoro’s 3-sword style but instead of swords he holds pencils.
The most important cameo of all, of course, is the appearance of a student wearing a straw hat saying, “You’re so cool”. Need we say who this character is?
The popular series of advertisements previously featured iconic anime such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, and Sazae-san, each with a different storyline. For example, the CM that featured Studio Ghibli’s Kiki and her friend Tombo sees Kiki dealing with the pangs of teenage romance, eventually confessing her feelings for Tombo.
These gorgeous animated CMs feature character designs by Carole & Tuesday’s Eisaku Kubonouchi, and songs performed by Japanese rock band BUMP OF CHICKEN. While the previous “Hungry Days” ads were produced by Tatsunoko Production, this One Piece ad is done by Shaft.
Source: Anime News Network